Let them eat cake!

Cake pops. You’ve all seen them. Round balls of cake with icing coated in melted chocolate served on a stick. A lollipop-type cake dessert. I decided this past summer to try to make them for my favorite guy for his birthday. He loves red velvet cake. I’m not a baker but I figured I could do this, right?  So I found a recipe and I made them, but I didn’t put them on a stick. As a result, I call them cake balls instead of cake pops. Red velvet cake balls with cream cheese frosting mixed into the batter, dipped in melted white chocolate. It was a huge hit.

 

For Thanksgiving, I decided to make cake balls again but this time I would be a little more creative. The possibilities are endless, plus I’m not a fan of red velvet. So I made two different kinds. The first was devils food cake with dark chocolate frosting mixed in, dipped in melted semi-sweet chocolate and topped with chocolate sprinkles.  The second variety was lemon cake with classic vanilla frosting mixed in, dipped in melted white chocolate and adorned with toasted coconut. Both were a huge hit with my man and my parents.  I enjoyed the dark chocolate ones with red wine and the lemon ones were perfect for breakfast.

 

For Christmas this year, I decided it was time to try yet another concoction. Fudge marble cake with classic vanilla frosting mixed in and dipped in melted semi-sweet chocolate.  I also figured it was time to share the recipe because while it may be incredibly messy and time consuming, the delicious factor is totally worth it! One cake mix makes a ton of cake balls depending on the size you create and they even freeze well!

 

Ingredients

Cake mix of your choice (choose one that mentions moist)

Can of frosting

Sprinkles, toasted coconut, any type of adornment

Largest bag of chocolate chips you can find – white, semi-sweet, dark - you choose!

 

Directions

Make the cake according to the box directions. Let it cool for at least 30 minutes – preferably longer.

 

While the cake is cooking/cooling, line two cookie sheets with wax paper.

 

After the cake has cooled, rip up the cooked cake into a large mixing bowl. Yep, that beautiful cake you just made - tear it up and put it in the bowl.

Mix it up with your hands until all the clumps are out.

 

Take ¾ of the can of frosting (do not use the entire can – it will be too mushy) and mix it in to the bowl of cake pieces. Blend well with your hands or a flat backed spoon. Do not use a mixer.

 

Roll the mixture into balls with your hands. There are molds for these but why spend money on molds? You have two hands. You can roll the mixture into balls, right? How big, you ask? That all depends on your liking.  I could easily get 48 balls out of one box of cake but I have also rolled them bigger and made 24 balls.

 

Place the rolled balls on the wax paper. Once all the balls are rolled, put another layer of wax paper on top of the balls and place the trays in the fridge for at least two hours. I like to put them in overnight. You want them to firm up before dipping.

 

On the back of the chocolate chip package will be directions on how to melt the chocolate. I like to use a double boiler to melt my chocolate on the stove. Microwaving can work too quickly and burn the chocolate. Put water in the bottom pan but make sure that the bottom of the top pan doesn't touch the water. Hint - you don't need much. You want the water warm but not boiling so heat it on medium heat. Pour the chocolate chips in - I think the more the better even though the bag says no more than two  cups. You need the melted chocolate to be deep enough for the entire cake ball to be covered easily.

 

Once the chips start to get shiny, start stirring with a wooden spoon. It won't take long for the chips to melt into a smooth luscious melted chocolate.  

Once it's melted remove the top pan and put it on a hot plate. Put a cake ball into the melted chocolate. Roll it in the chocolate and gently use a fork to lift the ball out of the chocolate, letting the excess drip off into the pan. Place the ball onto the wax paper.  If you want sprinkles or any topping, do it immediately before it cools and the chocolate hardens. Otherwise, the adornments won't stick.

 

Once all the balls have been dipped and on the wax paper, put them in the fridge and let them firm up. Depending on how thick you've coated them with chocolate is how long it will take for them to harden. After two hours in the fridge they should be ready.

Carefully, peel them off of the wax paper and place them in a tupperware or serving dish.  I made these bigger than usual and of course if you want to use lollipop sticks make the balls smaller. Totally your choice.

 

 

 

Keep in mind these are REALLY messy to make so give yourself tons of time! One thing that helps relax me when I make cake balls is whiskey! This time I decided to imbibe on some Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. No, I didn't put it in the mix!

 

Cake balls are fun to make and absolutely delicious to eat! For a different treat for your kids or even for yourself, try them! I'm sure yours will be prettier than mine. But I'm not trying to win any awards. They taste delicious and isn't that what really matters?

Stories aren't the icing on the cake. They ARE the cake!

-Peter Gruber